MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services, (W.A.R.S.), is a nationally designated Qualified Treatment Facility adhering to the principles and definition of recovery by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In their “Working Definition of Recovery” they established recovery as “ A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.” They go on to state, “Recovery is built on access to evidence-based clinical treatment and recovery support services for all populations.”
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We at (W.A.R.S.) employ skilled physicians, counselors, and treatment staff dedicated to creating winning strategies in medication assisted addiction recovery. We provide a loving and empathetic environment using safe and effective medications that respects each recovering individual as a valued member of our society and treat addiction as a chronic illness rather than a willful choice or moral weakness.
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services believes we all benefit from the inclusion of recovering individuals back into our communities raising families, re-connecting to loved ones, and being gainfully employed. We strive to encourage a life balance of mind, body and soul.
Through monthly visits, counseling, drug testing and weekly community based meetings, individuals are provided a responsible structure and schedule that induces relapse prevention, expansion of self awareness, strengthening of physical and mental health, and a sense of humility through spiritual growth.
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services welcomes all walks of life. We never discriminate on the bases of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.
At W.A.R.S., we believe recovery doesn’t open the gates of heaven and let you in, but rather, opens the gates of hell and let's you out!
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services believes we all benefit from the inclusion of recovering individuals back into our communities raising families, re-connecting to loved ones, and being gainfully employed. We strive to encourage a life balance of mind, body and soul.
Through monthly visits, counseling, drug testing and weekly community based meetings, individuals are provided a responsible structure and schedule that induces relapse prevention, expansion of self awareness, strengthening of physical and mental health, and a sense of humility through spiritual growth.
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services welcomes all walks of life. We never discriminate on the bases of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.
At W.A.R.S., we believe recovery doesn’t open the gates of heaven and let you in, but rather, opens the gates of hell and let's you out!
Pain Management
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services recognizes that a significantly large population of addicted individuals of the current opioid epidemic crises are products of years of prescription opioid medication used to treat chronic pain syndrome.
Unscrupulous dispensing of opioid prescriptions by “pain clinics” over the last 15-20 years has resulted in too many chronic pain syndrome patients having dangerously high tolerance to opiates combined with unsatisfactory pain control.
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For those suffering from chronic pain this sets up an extremely dangerous situation. When a patients pursuit of increased pain control drives overuse and abuse of prescription opiates then addictive behavior patterns, overdose, and organ damage become increasingly likely.
Due to the current scrutiny these “pain clinics” currently receive, they are more and more frequently turning their longterm patients away through outright discharge from their clinics or reducing patient dosages to even more ineffective levels for fear of reprisal due to wrongful death litigation and DEA investigation. These long term patients are already refractory to the opiate medication due to tolerance (as tolerance increases effective pain control decreases). The effect of this is forcing these patients into the street to fend for themselves causing a myriad of personal problems from safety and legal issues to of course death by overdose and other related illnesses.
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services began using Buprenorphine five years ago in response to this problem based on data published in the American Journal of Therapeutics 2005 titled “Sublingual Buprenorphine Is Effective in the Treatment of Chronic Pain Syndrome” (2005) 12 (5). Malinoff HL, Barkin RL et el. Among other studies with similar findings it was found that buprenorphine sublingual both in singular form (Subutex), and in combination form, (Suboxone) (buprenorphine plus naltrexone), resulted in significantly lower pain scores. In fact, 86% of patients reported improved functional status and capacity, improved mood, diminished sleep disturbance, high patient family satisfaction, and an improved overall sense of well being.
In many instances patients reported significant relief of depression, anxiety, and the “misery” associated with their chronic pain. For the subset of these patients exhibiting comorbid addictive disorders they showed stabilization and the same level of improvement as non chemically dependent patients when both pain and addiction were addressed in a systematic fashion. Furthermore, in these studies, tolerance to buprenorphine was not observed and patients remained on a stable maintenance dose for the life of the study and beyond (one year). Wellness Addiction Recovery Services addresses in a systematic fashion every pain patient on both pain level and an addiction level.
These studies demonstrate the safety, effectiveness, and simplicity of using sublingual buprenorphine to treat chronic pain refractory to long term opiate analgesic therapy. Despite these irrefutable facts, sublingual buprenorphine is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of pain, although the intravenous formulation (Buprenex) has been approved since 1980 and there recently became available a trans-dermal patch similar to the Fentanyl patch. We believe that due to the inherently high numbers of opiate addicted chronic pain sufferers and the well known abuseability of transdermal patch contents and of intravenous drug formulations, a move to FDA approval of sublingual buprenorphine is long overdue. Wellness Addiction Recovery Services has petitioned the department of health to pressure the FDA to immediately approve the use of sublingual buprenorphine for pain. At this time however this form of this medication is still not approved in this country even though sublingual buprenorphine is approved for pain in every country on earth except the United States of America.
All patients are made aware of this "off-label" use of sublingual buprenorphine and give informed consent prior to treatment. Additionally all prospective pain patients are encouraged to bring as many of their medical records as they can for our review. Over the last four plus years we at Wellness Addiction Recovery Services have seen overwhelmingly positive life changing effects of this treatment for chronic pain syndrome.
For further information on how you can break the cycle of increasing tolerance and decreasing pain control inherent to long term opiate use, please contact our office today!
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services began using Buprenorphine five years ago in response to this problem based on data published in the American Journal of Therapeutics 2005 titled “Sublingual Buprenorphine Is Effective in the Treatment of Chronic Pain Syndrome” (2005) 12 (5). Malinoff HL, Barkin RL et el. Among other studies with similar findings it was found that buprenorphine sublingual both in singular form (Subutex), and in combination form, (Suboxone) (buprenorphine plus naltrexone), resulted in significantly lower pain scores. In fact, 86% of patients reported improved functional status and capacity, improved mood, diminished sleep disturbance, high patient family satisfaction, and an improved overall sense of well being.
In many instances patients reported significant relief of depression, anxiety, and the “misery” associated with their chronic pain. For the subset of these patients exhibiting comorbid addictive disorders they showed stabilization and the same level of improvement as non chemically dependent patients when both pain and addiction were addressed in a systematic fashion. Furthermore, in these studies, tolerance to buprenorphine was not observed and patients remained on a stable maintenance dose for the life of the study and beyond (one year). Wellness Addiction Recovery Services addresses in a systematic fashion every pain patient on both pain level and an addiction level.
These studies demonstrate the safety, effectiveness, and simplicity of using sublingual buprenorphine to treat chronic pain refractory to long term opiate analgesic therapy. Despite these irrefutable facts, sublingual buprenorphine is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of pain, although the intravenous formulation (Buprenex) has been approved since 1980 and there recently became available a trans-dermal patch similar to the Fentanyl patch. We believe that due to the inherently high numbers of opiate addicted chronic pain sufferers and the well known abuseability of transdermal patch contents and of intravenous drug formulations, a move to FDA approval of sublingual buprenorphine is long overdue. Wellness Addiction Recovery Services has petitioned the department of health to pressure the FDA to immediately approve the use of sublingual buprenorphine for pain. At this time however this form of this medication is still not approved in this country even though sublingual buprenorphine is approved for pain in every country on earth except the United States of America.
All patients are made aware of this "off-label" use of sublingual buprenorphine and give informed consent prior to treatment. Additionally all prospective pain patients are encouraged to bring as many of their medical records as they can for our review. Over the last four plus years we at Wellness Addiction Recovery Services have seen overwhelmingly positive life changing effects of this treatment for chronic pain syndrome.
For further information on how you can break the cycle of increasing tolerance and decreasing pain control inherent to long term opiate use, please contact our office today!
In Home Intervention
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services does contracted family in home interventions. These typically require participation of family and friends of the affected individual without their prior knowledge. The process involves training of the individuals family and friends and usually requires a good amount of preparation.
If you believe that this step is necessary we urge you to contact our office and arrangement materials as well as financial information may be obtained.
On Site Counseling
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services provides trained counseling and has referral associations to independent services throughout our treatment area.
We adhere to proven methods such as; the 12 steps, behavioral and cognitive therapy, experiential therapy such as art and writing, family therapy, mindfulness practices like yoga and meditation and spiritual practices and principles.
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We believe in relapse prevention groups and encourage successful recovering individuals to man these group sessions.
Medications
Medication-assisted treatment is an important part of an effective response to opioid use disorder.
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services combines medications and behavioral therapy to treat substance use disorder.
Buprenorphine is an agonist (stimulator) and antagonist (blocker) or ( “partial agonist”) to the opioid receptor as opposed to a pure agonist as is heroin and prescription opioids like oxycodone.
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In addiction, individuals create and sensitize millions of opiate receptors throughout the body. At lower doses the drug acts similar to other opioids (agonists) and blocks symptoms of withdrawal, but at moderate doses it begins to act like an antagonist to the opiate receptor and creates a ceiling effect blocking harmful and dangerous effects of the other opioids, such as respiratory depression, tolerance, and psychoactive effects “feeling high”.
Therefore, buprenorphine has a high safety profile clinically, a low level of physical dependence, and only mild withdrawal symptoms on stopping after prolonged administration. Additionally what creates a superior role in addiction recovery is that it does so without the “ high” associated with other opiates including methadone. Studies have shown buprenorphine to be safer than methadone in that it has less ability to create respiratory depression, does not produce a significant "high", and is markedly easier to taper because of the less severe side effects of withdrawal.
However, there is still some risk of overdose, particularly if the individual concurrently uses another opioid, benzodiazepine, alcohol, sedatives, or certain medications that interact with buprenorphine. We strictly prohibit any concurrent use of drugs of abuse and do an in depth toxicology test with every clinic visit.
Studies prove that buprenorphine reduces overall death rates, transmission of infectious disease, criminal activity and increases treatment retention, and improvement of social functioning. We utilize all forms of buprenorhnine on the market; Suboxone, Subutex, Zubsolve, and Bunavail etc. Our goal after induction and stabilization is to find the lowest dose at which the individual does not experience withdrawal symptoms, significant side effects, or uncontrollable craving for opioid use.
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services understands that finding the correct dose will vary from person to person and our skilled physicians and treatment staff work to the end result of adjusting to the level that holds someone in treatment and suppresses opioid withdrawal effects.
Therefore, buprenorphine has a high safety profile clinically, a low level of physical dependence, and only mild withdrawal symptoms on stopping after prolonged administration. Additionally what creates a superior role in addiction recovery is that it does so without the “ high” associated with other opiates including methadone. Studies have shown buprenorphine to be safer than methadone in that it has less ability to create respiratory depression, does not produce a significant "high", and is markedly easier to taper because of the less severe side effects of withdrawal.
However, there is still some risk of overdose, particularly if the individual concurrently uses another opioid, benzodiazepine, alcohol, sedatives, or certain medications that interact with buprenorphine. We strictly prohibit any concurrent use of drugs of abuse and do an in depth toxicology test with every clinic visit.
Studies prove that buprenorphine reduces overall death rates, transmission of infectious disease, criminal activity and increases treatment retention, and improvement of social functioning. We utilize all forms of buprenorhnine on the market; Suboxone, Subutex, Zubsolve, and Bunavail etc. Our goal after induction and stabilization is to find the lowest dose at which the individual does not experience withdrawal symptoms, significant side effects, or uncontrollable craving for opioid use.
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services understands that finding the correct dose will vary from person to person and our skilled physicians and treatment staff work to the end result of adjusting to the level that holds someone in treatment and suppresses opioid withdrawal effects.
IN-PATIENT Rehab
Wellness Addiction Recovery Services refers to all in-patient rehabilitation facilities nationwide and in many instances has intimate relationships with facilities in our local “four corners” area of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. Wellness Addiction Recovery Services believes in-patient rehabilitation performs a vital role in successful recovery.
It's often said one must remove oneself from a bad neighborhood to have a chance at recovery. We believe when the size of that neighborhood is six inches wide, "the distance between the ears", in-patient rehab creates the opportunity to separate from external as well as internal pressures that all too often becomes too heavy of a weight to bear.
We work with each state's financial programs to help individuals find the appropriate means necessary to secure admission.
